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A date with sunset

Despite the media blitz, the true spirit of Ramadan still exists

by Tarek Atia

Since the birth of Islam, there has always been, and until Judgment day comes, there shall always be Ramadan. Days spent abstaining from food, drink and smoking, nights spent walking the festive streets with friends or gathering with the family. Festive is definitely the key word for Ramadan -- it's a mood, an attitude, it permeates the air itself. 
For some it is a month of intense religious devotion, extra prayers, generous donations of money and food for the needy. For others, the burden of fasting is compensated by the relaxation of work schedules and lesser loads at school, as well as the opportunity to gorge on meats and sweets all night long. Some 180,000 tons of wheat, 40000 tons of rice, 10 billion loaves of bread 7.5 million kilos of sugar and 15 million kilos of ghee will be consumed this month by the hungry faithful.

But just as Ramadan will always be the same, Islam's holiest month is also forever changing. The television, primary entertainment for most folks during the 11 other months of the year, plays and even more expanded role during Ramadan. From just after sunset until just before dawn, the television is on. And each year, it seems, the Egyptian Radio and Television Union tries to make the spectacle bigger and brighter than before. With game shows, riddles, dramas, comedies, increased advertising and big prizes, it's easy to sometimes feel: they're getting too fancy and too cutesy for their own good... But no star or aspiring star would dream of missing out on the opportunity to show their Ramadan spirit, and more often than not, the television audience eats it all up with glee. 

There has been criticism of this trend, to be sure -- accusations that Ramadan has become just another product, that the holy month is now owned by the fat cats and the advertising business, who inundate every show with at least a hundred commercials. Ads for paper towels, water heaters and everything else under the sun now even float onto the bottom of the screen during the shows themselves. But in this day and age, after all (just look at Christmas in the US), what else hasn't been commercialized?

*   *   *

It was sunset and I was on the tram, heading home for a hearty meal after a hard day of fasting. The streets were crammed with crawling cars, but the tram took the tracks at top speed. The driver was obviously also in a hurry to get home. As we entered Heliopolis, the call to sunset prayer, signifying the time to break the fast, came forth from several mosques at once. I realized it would still be a few minutes before I made it home; I would have to remain hungry until then.

Just then I spied the conductor coming my way, and readied my ticket just in case he wanted to check it. Instead, when he arrived, it was to hand me a date, which he did so with the greeting "Kull sana w-anta tayyeb." He then passed out dates to the rest of the passengers. Exchanging smiles of surprise, we all broke our fast together.

Not two minutes later, the inspector also came by. Again I readied my ticket, again I was surprised: all he wanted to do was offer me another date.

And that's how I discovered that the true spirit of Ramadan does still exist in Egypt.

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